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Duluth Perennial garden design. Perennial gardens are an English tradition. The cottage garden was a riot of color and texture. modifications. We are in a much colder zone so the plant list is different In the USA gardeners enjoy mixing perennials with annuals and vegetables. Vocabulary.
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Perennial gardens are an English tradition • The cottage garden was a riot of color and texture
modifications • We are in a much colder zone so the plant list is different • In the USA gardeners enjoy mixing perennials with annuals and vegetables
Vocabulary • Annual • Perennial • Bulb • Corm • Hardy • Tender
Bulb longevity • The best for re-flowering are : • Snow drops, scilla, grape hyacinth • Crocus • Daffodils • Tulips and hyacinths don’t re-bloom very well
Plants that are tender but tempting • Dahlias, • Caladium • Canna • Gladiola • Begonia • Freesia
Attributes of perennials • Attract people , pollinators • May be fragrant • Have a variety of textures • Can have interest in all seasons • Can be used as cut flowers • Gardening as recreation
Perennial garden types • Rock garden • Water garden • Border • Island beds • Containers
The plan • Location: know your soil, sun/shade, slope • Soil prep: • Get a soil test • add organic material , • pH 6.5 for most perennials, • Install in ground irrigation
The plan • Start small: there is a learning curve • Think about maintenance • What time of year are you viewing the garden? Plant for the time you are home. • What is your budget? If you need to plant over a couple of years. Get plants from friends. • Study the plants and gardening skills • Draw your design on paper or computer
Design rules • Balance: Height, color, texture • Unity through repetition • Tie in colors to those in the surroundings. • Proportion: 60% rule the mature height of a plant should not be more than 60% of the bed width • Always remember a plant can be dug up and moved
Design rules • Least, little, lots • It is most pleasing to the eye to have an odd number of the same plant in a grouping. • Space plants to allow them to get to their mature size • Perennials don’t get full size in one season • “sleep, creep, leap”
Planting times • Most (especially if bare root) get planted when the soil can be worked in SPRING. That gives them all summer to get a good root established. • If potted they can get planted most of the summer ( harden off before planting). • Plant at the same level as the pot • Peony and iris get moved or split in August
Staking • Single • Corset • Brushwood • Push the stake in the ground early spring to reduce root breakage
mulch • Reduces weeds • Holds moisture • Can add organic matter to the soil • Can help keep diseases off the plants • Can keep soil cool
Nutrients • The best N:P:K is 5:10:5, or 10:10:10 or 5:10:10 • High N means no to few flowers and a plant that will attain less hardiness
Propagation and acquisition • Division when plants are just coming up • From seed, this takes longer to get a bloom • Buy them from a garden center or mail order • They can be bare root or potted